Chickpea & Quinoa Mason Jar Salad

Author - Alyssa Rimmer

These Chickpea & Quinoa Mason Jar Salads are a quick and easy way to have a healthy lunch at the office! Layered to ensure nothing gets soggy, they're the perfect way to get in your veggies!

When I used to commute to an office every day, salads were my least favorite thing to pack for lunch. It was pretty much inevitable that a) I would forget the dressing or b) it would be a soggy mess by the time lunch rolled around. They were never enjoyable to eat, and yet they were my favorite lunch…major dilemma.

If I had known about mason jar salads back then, my salad woes would have been fixed.

The secret to the perfect mason jar salad? THE LAYERS. It's all about how you layer it.

Honestly, I haven't made that many mason jar salads yet (this old trend is a new one for me!), but from my experimenting, here's what I've found to work best:

Layer 1: dressing

Layer 2: beans/protein

Layer 3: chopped veggies

Layer 4: grains/nuts/seeds

Layer 5: greens

The idea is that the dressing will help to marinate the protein and get it more flavorful and doesn't wilt any of the tender greens. And then when you dump it into your bowl, the greens on the bottom and the dressing just pours evenly over the entire salad.

This particular recipe is actually one that I had from WAY back in the archives and I wanted to give it a little refresh.

I changed the dressing to be much more flavorful, added in chickpeas for more protein and tossed in some arugula to make it more of a meal-sized salad.

Overall, I'm SO happy with it and I think you are going to love it!

Guys, the possibilities with these salad combinations are endless! I'm dying to know…have you tried mason jar salads yet? What are you favorite recipes? Share in the comments below! ⬇

And if you end up making your own quinoa mason jar salad, I want to see what you come up with ❤ Make sure to snap a pic and share it with me on Instagram by tagging @simplyquinoaand using #simplyquinoa!

for the dressing

Instructions

Begin with the dressing. Whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl. Taste and adjust seasoning if desired.

When ready to assemble the salads, evenly divide the dressing between 2 wide-mouth mason jars (quart size). Then evenly divide the remaining ingredients and add to the mason jars in the order listed. Seal with lid and store in the refrigerator until ready to eat.

When serving, pour contents of the mason jar into a bowl. Stir around to help get dressing distributed and enjoy!

share what you make

tag @simplyquinoa on Instagram with your creations! we love sharing what you make with the community!

I can’t wait to see!

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Hey there! I’m Alyssa, certified holistic nutritionist and founder of SQ. My goal is to help you take simple, practical and personal steps to living a healthier life so that you can be well + truly healthy.learn more

Hey Alyssa, will be trying your mason jar salads out this week! I have been making mason salads for lunch each week for a while now and have just been rotating through the same ones, eager to add a few more to my rotation and these look great.

I have been making them for 4 days at a time and they are still fine to eat on the 4th day so far, will let you know how these turn out! Eager for more combinations if you come up with them 🙂

Darlene, Black beans have higher protein (8g vs 7g), but slightly less fiber.(6 g vs 7g). Great Northern beans have equal protein and fiber as chick peas. So Black and Great Northern are good substitutes.

This might sound like a dumb question, but I have read about Mason jar salads for ages. Have never tried them but am wondering….do these salads have to be made in glass jars, or would a plastic container of similar shape and size work just as well?

Alyssa, thank you for sharing all your recipes and tips for better eating and especially plant based eating and recipes. My questions to you is, I have not made the full transition but I would like to know if you could suggest the spices one should have to begin the transition to plant base foods, thanks

Hi Darlene – great to hear from you! I’m actually planning on doing a full video and blog post on spices in the next few weeks 🙂 In the meantime, you might be interested in joining my new plant-based transition program! https://www.simplyquinoa.com/powered-by-plants xo

Hey there! I’m Alyssa, certified holistic nutritionist and founder of SQ. My goal is to help you take simple, practical and personal steps to living a healthier life so that you can be well + truly healthy.learn more

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